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Ace Bailey's Reason for Canceling 76ers Workout Revealed

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gautam Varier | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 11:23 AM ET

Ace Bailey is set to be one of the top picks in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, which is to be held at the Barclays Center on June 25-26. Bailey enters the draft on the back of an impressive season at Rutgers, averaging 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in 2024-25.

A host of teams appeared interested in drafting Bailey, but Jonathan Givony reported that he surprisingly declined several pre-draft workout invites. Givony added, though, that there was one team he was set to meet this week, the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers have the third pick in this draft, and Bailey has been considered as an option.

In yet another surprising move, though, Bailey chose to cancel that workout with the 76ers. According to Givony, he remains the only U.S.-based prospect yet to visit any of the clubs. It's a bizarre approach, but the 76ers have not ruled out selecting him with their pick.

As for the reason behind this rejection, Jason Dumas reports that Bailey was seeking a promise from the 76ers before agreeing to a meeting.

Source: Ace Bailey was seeking a promise from the Sixers prior to committing to a meeting. That meeting appears to be unlikely now.

As I reported on Friday, there has been a lot of posturing for weeks now with the Sixers unsuccessfully making attempts to get Ace in the building
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) June 19, 2025

It's unclear what this promise was. Did Bailey want assurances that the 76ers would select him with the pick before he even had a workout? It could also be that he wanted a guarantee that he'd be a big part of the rotation next season if they pick him.

Whatever the case may be, this is an interesting turn of events, and it might have made Bailey the biggest wildcard of the draft. We tend to see one top prospect slide down the draft almost every year, and he could be the one in 2025.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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